A Walk In The Forest
by waldorbes
Summary: Draco wants to prove to himself that he can do anything after being assigned to kill Dumbledore by venturing into the Forbidden Forest. What happens when the Forbidden Forest finds a way to prove that there is a reason as to why it's forbidden?


**A/N: This is my first attempt at Dramione fanfiction. Please don't judge too harshly. This is for a d/hr fanfiction contest on tumblr. As for my other three stories that are still unfinished, I will (hopefully) be posting something for each of them very soon. I really don't like that they're unfinished. The characters and world aren't mine, just the plot, yadda yadda yadda. I hope you enjoy this!**

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It had been almost six years since Draco had set foot in the Forbidden Forest. He was a child at that time – A scared little boy. But now, it was different. Now, he was a Death Eater – a man who had given his loyalty to the Dark Lord and had, in turn, been given a large undertaking. Voldemort had ordered him to murder the Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. Why he had been the one chosen, he would never know, but that didn't mean he wouldn't take his responsibility seriously. How could he not?

There was, however, one thing bothering him in the very depths of his mind. If he was supposed to take on such a large responsibility, wouldn't that mean he should be able to walk within the Forbidden Forest and not be afraid of whatever could possibly be inside, right? _Right! What the bloody hell could possibly be in there? I already know what's in there, and it's not that frightening. I can take it._

Draco continued walking in silence, his hands buried in the pockets of his cloak. His wand hand kept a tight hold on the wooden stick, ready and willing to hex anything that threatened to block his path or cause him harm.

_Crack!_

Draco quickly twirled on his heels as his wand swiftly moved from his pocket, pointed towards where the noise had come from.

"Who's there?" the blond asked, his voice cracking without his permission. No answer to his question came, only a harsher, more sickening crack. The Slytherin began to move backwards, still facing where he thought the sound was coming from with his wand held aloft. Clearing his throat, he decided that he needed to talk in a more serious tone.

"I said, who's there?" Draco's voice didn't crack this time. It was boiling over with conviction. He was going to stand his ground against whatever it was that was heading his way. The ground began to shake violently, causing Draco to become very unsteady on his feet. He was stuck in his place, not sure where to go to escape exactly what was coming after him.

Finally, after a long minute, a giant came out from behind the brush, causing Draco's steel gray eyes to go wide in shock. He had been sure that the only giant within a hundred miles of the school was the disgusting groundskeeper but he was obviously proven wrong. The giant seemed confused by his presence and bent low to examine him. The Slytherin finally found the courage to turn around and begin running, only to have the large, dirty hand wrap itself around his waist and bring him up to eye level for examination. Draco began to wildly beat at the arm, wanting to be released.

"Let me go you imbecile!"

"Grawp!" yelled a tiny, stern voice. Draco struggled to turn in the giant's grasp to find just who had found him. His eyes widened again when he found Hermione Granger standing on the ground.

"Granger? What are you doing here?" he yelled, still struggling in the beasts grasp. Hermione seemed to ignore him as her hands balled up and placed themselves on her hips.

"Grawp! Put him down! He is not a ragdoll." The giant, whom Draco had deduced was named Grawp, gave Hermione a sad expression before putting Draco down on the ground, patting his head. A thick branch that could have been mistaken for a tree trunk was levitated in the air grabbing Grawp's attention before it was flung in the opposite direction that the pair was standing in the way of. Once the giant was gone, Draco turned to Hermione, still wide eyed in shock.

"Why did you do that for me?" he asked. Hermione glanced over at him, raising a brow.

"I didn't do it for you. I know what you can do to an innocent being if you're harmed or upset. I did it for Grawp." Tossing a bunch of hair over her shoulder, he caught a whiff of her scent, a strong vanilla. He hated to admit it, but it was quite intoxicating. Draco straightened his robes and put his hair back in place before speaking with determination.

"Yes, well, either way, there shouldn't be a wild giant so close to Hogwarts grounds. Wait until my father hears about this!" he said, walking determinately back towards the school, only to be stopped and pushed against a tree, a mass of curls blocking his vision and making it nearly impossible to see anything else. It didn't take long for Draco to realize that Hermione had pushed herself against him to cease his walking. Her hips pressed firmly against his, making sure he wouldn't move away from her.

"Please don't," she whispered to him, nearly pleading. "He's harmless."

"Why should I listen to you?" he asked in a harsh whisper. He didn't push her away from his body, and she didn't move away. The moment felt intimate and slow. The world around them seemed to slow down around them. Privately, he wished that it would never end. Dark, chocolate coloured eyes caught his steel shaded ones, holding tightly onto them.

"Because we both know you're better than running to your father to hurt me just because I won't be with you." Blinking slowly, his hand moved to cup her neck, his finger tips tangling themselves in her thick tendrils.

"I don't understand why you won't be," he whispered back to her. He couldn't lie to her, not when she was able to read him so easily. It was too hard to lie to her, and it made him feel like dung afterward if he did so happen to get away with it. Hermione's eyes left his, and her fingers curled themselves around the ends of the sleeves of his cloak.

Before she was even able to completely roll the sleeve up, he knew exactly why she would have pushed him away. The Death Eater mark was slightly revealed, and her thumb softly brushed against his skin. Her eyes were still trained on his skin as she spoke.

"I can't allow you to be killed because of me – because of what I am." Her eyes slowly lifted to gaze into his once more. "I'd never forgive myself if you were harmed."

A quick glance at her lips and he couldn't take it any longer. His hand that was still cupped around the back of her neck, pulled Hermione close, his lips closing the gap. While he allowed passion to slip into his half of the kiss, he noticed that it took her longer than he would have liked to feel the passion coming from the young Gryffindor.

A long minute passed before Hermione pulled away from the kiss, and Draco felt himself moving towards her with still puckered lips, not wanting the kiss to end. As she shook her head, Hermione pulled away from Draco, pushing hair away from her face.

"We can't do this. If you have to go to your father then so be it. Just know that if you do," she paused, pressing her robes back in place, seemingly conjuring the courage to look him directly in the eye. Once she did, her voice became cold and serious.

"If you do, I'll lose all respect I have for you, and never speak to you again."

Without another word, Hermione walked past him and Draco didn't stop her. Draco turned in his spot and watched her retreating figure until she completely disappeared.

"I won't," he said once she was completely out of his sight. Several moments passed before Draco finally started to head back to the castle.


End file.
